Accidents involving cars or trucks striking deer or other large animals, result in millions of dollars of property damage and often times bodily injury each year. With increasing deer populations, these accidents are becoming more frequent. These accidents are most common in October, November and early December, when the deer are in rut, and in April, May, June for foaling. According to Iowa DOT statistics, the number of deer-related accidents in Iowa in 1996 was over 12,000, up approximately 3% from 1995.
Many devices have been tried in the past in an effort to scare or deter the deer away from roads, so as to reduce the number of such accidents. For example, whistles and reflectors have been used to scare the deer away. However, deer quickly adapt to such deterrent devices, which soon loose effectiveness. Fences have also been used, but only deter the deer to another road crossing location.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a method and system for warning motorists of the presence of deer and other large animals near a road.
Another primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a series of motion detectors installed along a roadside to sense the presence of deer and then activate warning lights to notify approaching motorists of the potential danger.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.